Wire feed, straightening, and cutting mechanism.



" No. 804,321. PLT NTBD NOV. 14, 1905. v. HOXIE. WIRE FEED, STRAIGHTENING, AND 00mm momma.-

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LPPLIOATIOI FILED IEB. 20- 1904.

IIIII I INVENTOR.

WITNESSES Y WWI L mlnnlnunnlnucmmummmnlmlg No. 804,321. PATEN'bED NOV. 14, 1905.

'V. HOXIBL FIR E FEED, STRAIGHTENING, AND CUTTING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATIOH FILED IEBJO- 1904.

I lEEETS-BHBET 2.

INVENTOR.

6 aar fita wm WITNESSES:

ml mm mlummlm.nmmnum I z UNITED STATES VERNON noun or ADRIAN, women, Assienon TO LAMB WIRE FENCE COMPANY, or ADRIAN, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

WIRE'FEED, STRAIGHTENENG, AND CUTTING MECHANISM.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, VERNON Home, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Adrian, in the county of Lenawee and State of ltiichigan. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Feed, Straightening, and Cutting Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to wire-working machinery, and has particular reference to mechanism for feeding and straightening the wire, cutting the same into predetermined lengths, and intermittently delivering these out sections into the connected machine to be formed thereby into wire fabric or other articles.

' The primary object of my invention is to provide simple and efiicient mechanism where-,

by the feed of the wire to the straighteningarbor is automatically stopped at regularlytimed intervals to permit of a partial rotation of the receiving-shaft for the purpose of intermittently cutting the wire being fed and delivering a cutsection thereof into the forming-machine, thus preventing the buckling or burning off of the wire that is incident to machines of this class in which a continuous feed is employed.

Further objects of the invention are the provision of improved means for cutting the wire into sections and improving upon and simplifying the construction and arrangement of the mechanism for controlling and properly timing the operation of the assos ciated parts.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the mechanism comprising the invention, showing the shafts broken in two and the cutting parts partly in section. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wire-receiving shaft and associated cutting parts, taken on the dotted line war-in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the parts shown inFig. 1, with clutch mechanism shown partly in vertical section. Fig. 4 is an end elevation showing the wire-feed mech- Bpecification of Letters Iatent. Application and February 20, 1904. Serial No. 194,480.

Patented Nov. 14, 1905.

anism. Fig. 5 isa cross-sectional view of the clutch mechanism, taken on the dotted line y y in Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the feed-chair and supported mechanism for feeding the wire into the machine.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a ing the parts of my invention in operative position and has provided thereon the bearingblocks A and A", which are adapted to receive the ends of and support the straightening-arbor B in elevated position, the said arbor B having a belt-pulley I; provided atone end, by which it may be rapidly revolved from a driv- 6o portion of the frame employed for support ing-shaft (not shown) or in any suitable man- No claim is -made on the arbor B, as

ner.

design of straightener may be any suitable used..

Mounted in substantial longitudinal alinement withthe arbor B is the wire-receiving shaft C, which has one of its ends journaled in the bearing-block A and its other end journaled in a suitable bearing provided in the supportingstandard D,arising from theframe, the latter end of said shaft being extended beyond said standard D and having the large spur-gear E keyed thereon. The shaft 0 is provided on its periphery with a multiplicity of radially-disposed longitudinal grooves or wire-receiving sockets 0, (shown in the drawings as eight in number,) which extend the entire length of said shaft and are adapted to longitudinally aline with the central opening 6' through the arbor B and plug B by reason of the adjacent end of the shaft 0 being journaled in the bearing-block A in slightly offset position from said arbor, thus enabling the wire a as it is fed into the machine to pass continuously through the arbor B, bearingb'ock A; and alining groove 0 in the shaft 0 until its advance is stopped by means hereinafter described. The cap for retaining the shaft U in the bearing provided in the standard Dfor its reception is provided with the arms-(i and d, the former projecting horizontally around the spur-gear E and having the lever-arm c pivoted thereto and the latter cover, the groove 0, alining with the opening 5' through the plug B, and prevent the huekling of the wire a as it is being passed therein.

a comer The lever e is horizontally disposed in diametric relation to the outer side of the gear E and has the sleeve I," provided centrally thereon to receive the rotatable trip-wire-carrying member F, the said member being provided with a peripheral recess (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1) for receiving the retainingpins e", carried by said sleeve and adapted to normally abut against the hub of the gear E. The trip-wiresf', which pass through apertures provided in the member F and are adustably secured therein by any suitable means, (not shown,)correspond in number to the grooves c in the shaft C and are adapted to have their inner ends loosely extended through the hub of the gear E within said grooves to a point therein where it is desired to stop thefeed of the wire a, the same being accomplished by the end of the advancing wire a engaging the alining trip-wire f and I .port G are the belt-pulley i, by which it may tively, to be held in proper positions.

be rapidly revolved from adriviug-shaft, (not shown,) and the connected sleeve 1', the latter being keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to said pulley, as shown in Fig. 3. In order to impart an intermittent rotation to the shaft H f1 om the driven pulley I, I provide the sleeve J, which is rigidly keyed to said shaft in close abutting position to the hub of said pulley and carries the longitudinally-movable clutchpin jtherein, the said pin being adapted when released to engage aclutch-socketz', provided in the hub of said pulley, and impart rotation to said shaft. Asubstantially-L-shaped lever K is fulcru'med to a boss projecting from the bracket is, secured to the frame portion A, and has its horizontally-disposed arm normally resting against the under side of the sleeve J within the peripheral recess or groove J provided therein, and is also adapted to normally retain the clutch-pin font of engagement with the pulley I by reason of said arm resting in a trans verse notch provided therein. Expansion-springsj and K are shown in Figs. 3 and 5 for causing the pin j and lever K, respec- Movement is imparted to the lever K by means of the bell-crank lever L, which is fulcrumedto the boss 1-, projecting from the bracket 1:, and is adapted when rocked to release the lever K from the pin j and permit said pin to be forced into engagement with the pulley I.

The end of the shaft H is shown as projecting beyond the bearing-standard G and has rigidly mounted thereon the cam disk or wheel m and the small gear 12., the latter being adapt- 7 ed to mesh with the large gear E and cause a 1 partial rotation of the shaft C when the clutch mechanism is thrown into operation. While I have shown and described a particular form of clutch mechanism for controlling the movements of the shaft H, I do not wish to confine myself to the use of such mechanism, as any suitably form may be used.

The lever e, which has its free end extended transversely of the end of the shaft H in adjacent position thereto, has the roller m mounted the end of the lever e with one. of the arms of Y the bell-crank lever L, thus causing an outward movement of the lever we to release the lever K from engagement with the clutch-pin j, which is then forced into engagement with the driven pulley I and causes a rotation of the shaft H. By the time the shaft H has completed a single revolution the lever c has been forced back to its normal position by the cam m and the clutch mechanism released from engagement with the pulley K. I A feed-roll hair P is formed or otherwise suitably secured to the outer side of the frame A and has journaled in its upper portions the transverse counter-shaft p, which has the feedroll p keyed to its central portion and the bevel-gear q keyed to one of its ends, the said gear being adapted to mesh with and be continuously driven by the companion bevel-gear q, secured to and rotated by the sleeve 1'. as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 6. Elongated slots 1' are provided in the sides of the chair P in vertical alinement with the shaft and have portions of the shaft-supporting member Q, reciprocally mounted therein, the said portions being provided with hearings in which is mounted the transverse shaft x, which has the feed-roll a centrally keyed thereon in vertical alinement and adapted to be rotated by frictional engagement with the constantly-rotating feedroll p. The feed-roll x is caused to be intermittently lowered from engagement with the driven roll 72' by means of the lever T, which is fulcrumed to a stud 2, projecting horizontally from the end ofthe frame portion A below the chair P, and has the horizontally-disposed'arm T extending from its lower end and resting in the aperture it, provided in the lower portion of the member and its upper end bifurcated to enable the friction-roll t to be mounted therein. The friction-roll t is adapted to bear against the periphery of the cam-disk R, which is keyed to the adjacent end of the shaft H, and nor- I'll... "an!" shoe U, which is retained in frictional engagement with the periphery of the cam-disk R, by means of the supporting-bracket W, which projects outwardly from the standard G and is properly adjusted by means of the set-screw w. The member Q is normally retained in elevated position by means of the bow-spring Q, which has its ends resting in the lower portions of the slots r and its central portion bearing upwardly against a portion of said member. Set-screws are provided in the lower portions of the chair P and member Q for ad justing the spring Q, and lever '1, respectively.

The mechanism for severing the wire a into sections as it is passed into the machine consists of the hardened sleeve 0, which is rigidly secured over a reducedportion of the shaft G in close abutting position to the bearing-box A, and the highly-tempered plug B, which is provided with a longitudinal aperture therethrough and adapted to be inserted within a retaining-socket provided in said bearing-box A, with said aperture in longitudinal alinement with the aperture 6 through the arbor B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The periphery of the sleeve 0' is provided with a .series of radially-disposed longitudinal wirereceiving grooves corresponding to the grooves c in the shaft 0, of which it is a part, as will be seen by reference to the drawings. It will thus be seen that I have eliminated the cutting-disks and other attachments commonly employed in machines of this class for severing the wire intosections and have substituted therefor cuttingmeans of simplified and improved construction.

In the operation of my invention the wire a is fed by the feed-rolls p and a through the rapidly-revolving a'rbor- B, cutting-plug B,

andalining groove 0 in the shaft 0 until its and comes in contact with the end of the tripwire f, lying in the groove in which said'wire is advancing. As the trip-wire f is moved by the advancing feed-wire a the member F and attached 'levere are forced outward from the end of the shaft C and the connected clutch mechanism thrown into engagement with the driven pulley I, thus causing a single rotation of the shaft H, disks m and R, and small pinion the rotation of said parts being stopped as soon asthe terminus of the cam-surface of the disk m has been turned past the roller m on the lever e, thereby forcing the levcre back to its normal position and releasing the clutch met hanism from engagement. with the pulley I. The meshing gears E and n are so proportioned as to adapt a single rotation: of the shaft H to cause a rotation of the shaft C equal to the distance between the spaced grooves c therein, thereby causing the portion of the wire a that has been fed into the receivinggroove 0 to be severed by reason of the cutting edge of said groove revolving past the edge of the plug B and the next groove 0 to be moved into alinement with the aperture 1) in readiness to receive the advancing wire (1. During the rotation of the shaft H the feed of the wire a into the machine is interrupted by reason of the rotation of the carr disk R, causingthe roller 5 to travel out of the in dented portion R on the periphery of said disk, thus causing anoscillation of the lever T and arm T and a lowering of the feed-roll s. from engagement with the driven feed-roll p. This feature of my invention is most important to a perfect and satisfactory operation of this'class of machines, inasmuch as the breaking of the feed simultaneously with the turning movement of the shaft C, which lat: ter'necessarily causes a cessation in the ad- Vance of the wire until the succeeding receiva fault that very frequently occurs in machines employing a continuous feed-and also pre-.

vents the crowding of the end of the wire against the contiguous end of the shaf C dur-- ing its period of movement. The movement of the parts is so timed and regulated as to cause the pause in the feed to continue only during a single revolution of the shaft H and disk R, the latter being adapted to stop as soon as the roller t, carried by the lever T, has again dropped into the indented portion R, provided in the periphery thereof.

It is obvious that such changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction of the parts as fairly fall within the scope of my invention may be made without departing IIO from the spirit or sacrificing any .of the advantages thereof.

' Having thus described my Invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In awire-working machine, the combination with a wire-receiving shaft, of mechanism for feeding a wire to said shaft, and mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation at a predetermined point in the advance of the wire forintermittently stopping the feed of the wire to said shaft and cause a simultaneous move- 4 i v ao-asm shaft.

3. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a wire-receiving shaft, of a pair of coacting feed-rolls for advancinga wire to said shaft, an oscillatory member adapted when moved to cause a. receding movement of said coacting rolls and interrupt the feed of the wire, and mechanism adapted to cause a movement of said oscillatory member when the wire has been advanced to a predetermineddistance in said shaft and asimultaneous movement of said shaft.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with a rotatable receiver for the wire having independent wirereceptacles and the bearing-block therefor, of a hardened sleeve rigidly secured on a reduced portion of said receiver adjacent to said hlock,a hardenedmetal plug in said block having an aperture therethrough in alinement with one of the receptacles of said receiver, the said sleeve and plug having their contiguous edges flush and adapted to sever the wire as said receiver is rotated and mechanism actuated by the advancing wire for causing a movement of said shaft to sever the wire when it has been advanced a predetermined distanceitherein.

5.. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for feeding the wire, of a rotatable shaft having a reduced portion at one end thereof, a hardened-metal sleeve keyed to the reduced portion of said shaft, radially-arranged longitudinal wire-receiving receptacles provided on said shaft and sleeve-,- a hardened-metal plug longitudinally disposed in flush position to the end of said sleeve and having an aperture therethrough in alinement with said feeding means and a receiving-receptacle in said sleeve, the contiguous edges of said-sleeve and plug being formed with cutting edges for severing the wire as said shaft is rotated and mechanism for actuating said cutting parts when the wire has been advanced a predetermined distance in said shaft.

' 6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for feeding the wire and a rotatable recei vi ng-shaft, of a hardened metal plug rigidly mounted in longitudinal alinement with said receiving-shaft and hav-' ing an opening through which the wire passes to said shaft, a hardened-metal sleeve rigidly secured on said shaft, having a receptacle for the wire and its end flush with said plug for the purpose described and mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation at a predetermined point in the movement of the advancing wire to cause a movement of said cutting parts and a simultaneous cessation of the wire-feed.

7. 'In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for feeding the wire,

of a wire-straightening mechanism, a stationary plug having an opening through which the wire is advanced from said straightener, an intermittently-rotatable receiving-shaft, a hardened-metal sleeve rigid on said shaft flushwith said plug andhaving a series of longitudinal equidistantly-spaced peripheral grooves with cuttingedges adjacent to said plug adapted tostand successively in line with the open ing therethrough, and means for intermittently rotating said shaft.

8. In a wire-working machine, the combination of a wire-straightening mechanism, oppositely-rotating rolls at one end of and adapted to feed the-wire to said mechanism, a wirereceiving shaft mounted at the other end of said mechanism and having one or more peripheral grooves adapted tostand successively in line with the advancing wire, wire-cutting means in advance of said shaft, and means for intermittently interrupting the feed of the wire and causing a simultaneous movement of said shaft when the wire has advanced a predetermined distance.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a rotatable shaft having one or more radially-disposed longitudinal wirereceiving grooves therein, and oppositely-rotating rolls for feeding-the wire to said shaft, of a driving-shaft, a, loose pulley thereon adapted to rotate said rolls, aclutch mechanism associated with said shaft, connection between saiddriving-shaft and lls adapted when moved to interrupt the feed of the wire, and means adapted to be operated by the advancing wire to trip said clutch mechanism and cause an intermittent rr tation of said drivingshaft and a simultaneous movement of said receiving-shaft and interruption of said feed.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a rotatable wire-receiving shaft, and oppositelysrotating shafts carrying a pair of rolls for feeding the wire -to said shaft, one of said feed-shafts having movable bearings, of a drive-shaft, a loose pulley thereon, a clutch mechanism for engaging said pulley and causing a rotation of said shaft, a cam-disk keyed to said drive-shaft, a lever adapted to be moved bya rotation of said disk and interrupt the feed of said rolls, gear connection between said receiving and drive shafts, and means adapted to be tripped at a predetermined point in the advance of. the wire for throwing said clutch mechanism into operation and causing a simultaneous rotation of estid receiving-shaft and interruption ofsaid fe 11; In a machine of the class described, the combination with the wire receiving and driving shafts and gear connection between said shafts, of a lever extending transversely of the end ofsaid receiving-shaft, a member movable with said lever, means disposed in the path of the wire and secured to said member adapted to be intermittently engaged at other end of said mechanism and having a series of longituoinal grooves adapted to stand successively in line with the advancing wire, wire-cutting means in advance of said shaft, and means actuated by the advancing wire for intermittently moving the receiving-shaft to cause the wire to be severed and succes sively enter'the several grooves therein and to cause a simultaneous interruption of the feed thereof.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the wire straightening mechanism of a stationary hardened-metal plug in axial alinement with said mechanism and having an opening for the passage of the wire therethrough, a rotata ble receiving-shaft in advance of said plug and having a series of radially-disposed longitudinal wire-receiving receptacles therein, a hardened -metal sleeve on said shaft having its peripheral surface p'rbvided with receptacles to form a continuation of the receptacles in said shaft, the said receptacles being formed with cutting edges flush with said plug and adapted to suecessively aline with the opening tlierethrough when said shaft is rotated, and means adapted to be tripped by the advancing wire for intermittent! y rotating said shaft to sever the advancing wire and move the several receptacles successively in alinement with the advanc; ing wire.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an intermittent wire-feed mechanism, of a rotatable shaft having alongitudinallydisposed wire-receiving receptacle therein, means for severing said wire into causing an intermittent rotation of said shaft a predetermined distance and a simultaneous interruption of the feed of the wire to said shaft.

15. In. a machine of the classdescribed, the

' combination with an intermittent wire-feed ing said shaft intermittently to cause the wire to successively enter said grooves and be cut into sections and for causing a simultaneous cessation of the feed of the wire during such intermittent movements f said haft.

16. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a wire-feed mechanism, of a wire-receiving shaft, wire-cutting mechanism associated with said. shaft,and mechanism actuated by the advancing wire for intermittently 7 stopping the feed of the wire to said shaft.

17. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a wire-feed mechanism comprising oppositely-rotating shafts, having stationary and movable bearings and a pair of normally contacting rolls on said shafts, of a wire-receiving shaft, means for severing the wire at the limit of its movement into said shaft, and means actuated by the advancing wire for intermittently breaking the contact 30 of said rolls and interrupting the feed-of the wire to said shaft.

18. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the wire feed and straight ening mechanism, of a rotatable shaft having a 5 a series ofradially-dispcsed longitudinal wirereceiving receptacles therein, means for severing the wire as it is advanced into a receptacle, a driving-shaft, gear connection between said receiving and driving shafts, a loose belt- 9 pulley on said latter shaft, a clutch mechanism associated with said pulley and shaft, means actuated by the advancing wire for intermittently throwing said clutch into operation and causing a limited rotation of said receiving and driving shafts, and mechanism actuated by a rotation of said driving-shaft for causing a cessation of the .wire-feed during such rotation.

19. In a machine of the class described, an 1 0 intermittent wire-feed mechanism comprising oppositely-rotating shafts, a pair of rolls carried by said shafts between which the wire is normally gripped, stationary bearings for one and movable bearings for the other of said 1 5 shafts, means for normally retaining said rolls in contact, a driving-shaft, means on said shaft for continuously driving the shaft having stationary bearings, a cam-disk carried by said driving-shaft, a lever connecting said disk and I I0 movable bearings, and means for intermittently rotating said driving-shaft for causing a movement of said movable bearings andinterruption'of the feed of the wire.

20. In a machine of the class described, the 1 5 combination of a wire-feed mechanism, a rotatable wire-receiving shaft, means for intermittently rotating said shaft to discharge a wire fed thereto, a wire-cutting mechanism in advance of said shaft, and mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation at a predetermined point in the advance of the wire forcausing an interruption of the feedthereof.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name to this specification this 16th day of 5 February, 1904.

' VERNON HOXIE.

Witnesses:

W. B. CoLvm, N. C. THOMPSON. 

